X to launch premium subscriptions soon

The social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon provide two additional categories of premium subscriptions, according to Elon Musk’s announcement on Friday.

X launch premium subscriptions: Musk stated in a post on X that “one is more expensive, but has no ads, and the other is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads.”

Musk, who assumed control of the network in October 2022, has been attempting to increase revenue by charging users and by luring back advertisers who stopped paying advertising after Musk sacked the majority of staff and destroyed content moderation teams.

Musk has admitted that the platform’s revenue has decreased and blamed protestors for putting pressure on advertisers.

He did not go into any detail on the subscription plans, but a test case last week by X highlighted a few limitations for users who do not wish to pay for the service.

As a trial run, X began charging new users $1 to access the platform in New Zealand and the Philippines.

According to the company’s website, the company allows new users who do not subscribe to perform “read-only” operations, including reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts.

The “Not A Bot” membership mechanism on the platform seeks to lessen spam, platform manipulation, and bot activity.

“Digital Business Trends and Strategies”

Other significant digital businesses have also tested a combination of ad-supported and subscription programs. While Netflix’s (NFLX.O) ad-supported plans are also costly, though at a lower cost than Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) premium and free, ad-supported ones on YouTube.

Similar to X, YouTube too relies on user-generated content and distributes a portion of its subscription fees to content producers. X, which also distributes some of its ad revenue to them, left the question of whether content producers will receive payment through ad-free subscription models unanswered.

Musk began charging $8 per month for the blue tick subscription service in order to make money. He also gave businesses who wanted to advertise on the platform discounts.

“The company’s inadequate content management has garnered criticism, and advertisers did not want their advertising to be display next to inappropriate content.”